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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bass — low music
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. key — in music
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mug — a face
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. march — the month
  11. key — for a lock
  12. current — electric
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — letters
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — the month
  20. spell — magic
  21. bass — the fish
  22. current — of water
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com